The palm tree in the Jardin Albert 1er at the midnight, the Côte d’Azur, the Nice Jazz Festival, the 1948, the oldest jazz festival in Europe and the second-oldest in the world after the Newport, the trumpet of the young Miles Davis in the 1957 (the soundtrack of the Louis Malle’s “Ascenseur pour l’Échafaud”, the most beautiful jazz soundtrack in the cinema, the music that was improvised in the 2 nights of the Paris recording sessions, and the music that the Miles Davis played in the Nice at the Jardin Albert 1er), the palm trees, the Mediterranean air, and the sense that the jazz belongs to the French Riviera, the America gave the world the jazz, and the Côte d’Azur gave the world the jazz festival. Here is your guide to the Nice Jazz Festival.

The Nice Jazz Festival, Fun in the Sun

• The festival, the essential: The Nice Jazz Festival takes the place each July in the Jardin Albert 1er, the 2 stages (the Théâtre de Verdure, the main, the 1,800 seats, the amphitheatre, the open-air, and the best venue on the Côte d’Azur), the Place Masséna (the secondary, the free, the standing, and the best value jazz in the Nice), and the 5–6 nights of the music (the 7pm–midnight). The line-up is the mix of the international stars (the Gregory Porter, the Diana Krall, the Herbie Hancock, the names that have played the Nice in the recent years), the French jazz (the Erik Truffaz, the Stéphane Belmondo), and the world jazz (the African, the Latin, the Caribbean, the Nice is the most cosmopolitan jazz festival in the France). The ticket prices: the €40–60 per the night for the Théâtre de Verdure, the free for the Place Masséna, and the essential strategy: the 3-night pass (the €100, the best value, and the essential for the Nice Jazz Festival. The Place Masséna, the free stage, is the essential for the budget: the bring the picnic, the wine, and the music that is the excellent). The essential date: the second week of the July (the 2026 dates are the TBC, and the essential check: the Nice Jazz Festival website, the www.nicejazzfestival.fr, for the line-up and the tickets, the on-sale in the March). More France →
• The Nice beyond the festival, the essential city: The Nice is the essential city of the Côte d’Azur: the Promenade des Anglais (the 7 km of the seafront, the blue chairs, the palm trees, and the best walk on the French Riviera. The essential time: the sunset, the walk from the Jardin Albert 1er to the airport, the 2 hours, and the best evening in the Nice), the Old Town (the Vieux Nice, the narrow streets, the Cours Saleya, the market, the Tuesday–Sunday, the flowers, the vegetables, the socca, the chickpea pancake, the essential Nice street food, the €3 at the Chez Thérésa, and the best morning in the Nice), the Colline du Château (the Castle Hill, the remains of the 11th-century castle, the view of the Baie des Anges, the waterfall, and the best view on the Côte d’Azur. The free, the lift or the steps), the Musée Matisse (the Cimiez, the villa, the largest collection of the Henri Matisse in the world, and the best art museum in the Nice. ~€10), and the essential food: the salade niçoise (the tuna, the egg, the anchovies, the olives, the tomato, the essential Nice dish, and the best at the Chez Acchiardo in the Old Town. ~€16), the pissaladière (the onion tart, the anchovy, the olive, the essential Nice snack, ~€4)
• The essential Côte d’Azur add-on, the Saint-Paul de Vence: the bus 400 from the Nice (the 1 hour, the €1.50, the best-value bus journey in the France), the most beautiful hilltop village on the Côte d’Azur: the Fondation Maeght (the modern art museum, the Miró, the Giacometti, the Chagall, and the best art-gallery setting in the world. ~€16), the village (the galleries, the cobbled streets, and the most beautiful afternoon on the Côte d’Azur)